‘Tis the season for driving and parking advice

With many people making plans for Christmas celebrations and the shopping and errands that come with the holiday season, many groups and agencies are offering tips for when to leave, what to look out for and ways to avoid some of the stress. Here’s a roundup.

By By Dug Begley

on November 24, 2014 5:39 PM

Photo: Gary Fountain, Freelance

Image 1of/10

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 10

Leave early or late: Google, which tracks traffic in 21 major cities for its Google Maps smartphone app and online map, found that the worst time for traffic in Houston is between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday. If you’re heading out Wednesday, think about leaving before noon or after 6 p.m. less

Leave early or late: Google, which tracks traffic in 21 major cities for its Google Maps smartphone app and online map, found that the worst time for traffic in Houston is between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on ... more

Fun fact lifted verbatim from the Google Maps press release: The top three Google Maps trends the day before Thanksgiving were “ham shop,” “pie shop” and “liquor store,” as Americans do their last minute errands just before Turkey Day.

Hard Wait: TomTom, which tracktracks traffic, surveyed folks and found the greatest dread of most, 48.4 percent, is sitting in traffic. Besides the frustration of stop-and-go freeways, 7.8 percent of drivers ... more

Time off from road work: There are no scheduled lane closures related to construction along Texas freeways from 5 a.m., Wednesday through 5 a.m., on Dec. 1, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

Time off from road work: There are no scheduled lane closures related to construction along Texas freeways from 5 a.m., Wednesday through 5 a.m., on Dec. 1, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

Photo: Gary Coronado / Houston Chronicle

Time off from road work: There are no scheduled lane closures... Photo-7127958.98305 - Houston Chronicle

Image 7 of 10

Give thanks for cheap gasoline: With pump prices well below previous holiday seasons, groups like GasBuddy are predicting costs will be down for Thanksgiving travel. “From Thanksgiving through the following Sunday, motorists collectively will save over $650 million on gasoline versus what they spent last Thanksgiving,” GasBuddy said in a release. Of 81,000 people surveyed by GasBuddy, 71 percent said they expect to spend less this year on Thanksgiving. less

Give thanks for cheap gasoline: With pump prices well below previous holiday seasons, groups like GasBuddy are predicting costs will be down for Thanksgiving travel. “From Thanksgiving through the following ... more

Slight hike in shacking up: For those headed from home, hotel costs are up slightly over last year. AAA, which tracks hotel rates for its leisure index, said a three-diamond hotel room was going for an average of $154 a night, up from $142 last year. less

Slight hike in shacking up: For those headed from home, hotel costs are up slightly over last year. AAA, which tracks hotel rates for its leisure index, said a three-diamond hotel room was going for an average ... more

Park it: Shops are going to be crowded, and the demand for close spaces will be high, but the International Parking Institute (for real, it’s an actual group) suggests chilling out and maybe accepting a spot farther away to save yourself the stress and get some exercise. Plus, the institute noted in a release, emergency room data amassed by the Federal Highway Administration shows 55 percent of non-roadway collisions between pedestrians and vehicles occur in parking lots. Most of the remainder occur in private driveways or yards or on sidewalks. less

Park it: Shops are going to be crowded, and the demand for close spaces will be high, but the International Parking Institute (for real, it’s an actual group) suggests chilling out and maybe accepting a spot ... more

Photo: Alex Slitz, MBO

Park it: Shops are going to be crowded, and the demand for close... Photo-7159827.98305 - Houston Chronicle